Plastic Reduction Campaign

The vice-rectorate for Sustainable Development of the Campus launches a campaign to reduce plastics at the UPV. The objective is to make the community aware of plastics in daily habits, with a particular sensitivity towards those used in disposable containers.

Regardless of the possibilities that plastic materials have to be recycled, the most negligible ecological impact corresponds to the reuse of containers without any energy consumption for subsequent uses. The packaging of water bottles for individual use is a notable case in general plastic consumption since it produces a high volume of waste. Only 9% of the plastic used in water bottles is recycled for subsequent packaging manufacturing.

The campuses of the Universitat Politècnica de València have cafeteria and restaurant services and vending machines for drinks and food, which are used daily by the university community. Reducing the consumption of water bottled in plastic represents a relevant environmental contribution: each bottle not manufactured represents an energy saving.

UPV’s plastic reduction campaign poses a challenge: collectively save CO2 emissions and contribute to SDG 12, which seeks to guarantee sustainable consumption and production patterns. The university launches the UPV Water mobile application to contribute to this challenge. Designed by the company Closca and adapted by the ASIC, the application helps the user find public sources where they can refill a bottle of water. Every time users perform this action; they receive a series of points. The application offers challenges and prizes that are achieved by accumulating points.

At the same time, the application provides information on the benefits that these filling actions bring to the environment. Users know their environmental impact because they record how much plastic they have just saved and how much CO2 they have stopped emitting. The joint data of all the users of the UPV will allow obtaining data on the environmental savings of the institution.

For the campaign’s launch, a first challenge was opened whose prize was an exclusive bottle designed by Closca for the UPV. In the first 12 weeks, the application was downloaded by more than 11,000 users, who refilled more than 4,500 bottles at the UPV fountains, and more than 7,000 bottles were distributed. The UPV thus managed to reduce CO2 emissions by more than 4,000 kg.

Diffusion of the campaign: #UPVPlasticfree #Mylastbottle

Mobile apps: Android – iOS.